We will be showing three amazing prototypes which include: The Quetzal, Alone Together, and Heart of Stars!

Alone Together (Shawn Kerwin, Laurel MacDonald)Alone Together is an “art-app” for the Blackberry Playbook tablet that uses poetic wordplay and expressive videos to remind us that we can always reframe our relationships with the Other.

Heart of Stars (Vanessa Shaver, Tsu-Ching Yu)Using the groundbreaking technology of the Microsoft Kinect and building on the innovation of the Kinect open source community, Heart of Stars lets users become 3D avatars made of points of light and float through space. Combining high-resolution images of deep space with gesture-triggered operatic electronica, Heart of Stars entices all users to defy gravity and try to fly through the cosmos.

The Quetzal (Michael Evask, Mark Thoburn)The Quetzal is an interactive narrative (story-game) interfaced via EEG biofeedback. Harnessing the latest in consumer-level EEG technology, The Quetzal weaves 2D illustrations and 3D game play into a rich narrative tapestry. Through the power of thought, audience members become actors in The Quetzal. The result is an engaging, emotional experience that is the future of interactive cinema.

New technology accelerator will combine creative design and business expertise to build growth companies

Congratulations to MaRS as they announce the creation of JOLT, a new technology accelerator dedicated to building high-growth web and mobile companies that promise to transform the way consumers and enterprises connect, work and play.

Housed in the MaRS Commons, JOLT will select up to 15 high-potential startups annually, providing them with space, seed financing and mentorship, as well as access to partners and some of the top angel and venture capital investors in the industry. The goal of the program is to accelerate market validation and, in turn, help these companies secure the capital and talent necessary to scale efficiently.

JOLT is collaborating with a number of key partners who will actively commit their time, expertise and services to help JOLT companies become market leaders, including the CFC Media Lab, a unique collaborative training, acceleration and creative production think-tank environment for emerging new media content developers, practitioners and companies; and JET Cooper, a leading user design and experience agency. By combining their expertise in the creative arts and design with MaRS’ business-building experience, JOLT will be a unique Canadian technology accelerator.

Congratulations go out CFC Media Lab alumnus Ron Wild on his newly completed artwork! You’re all invited to celebrate with Ron at this incredible event, details are listed below!

“The OncoMap” is the product of an eight month collaboration between a mathematical physicist, Joseph Geraci, who works in cancer research and an emerging digital artist Ron Wild. The two met at MaRS while Dr. Geraci was a scientist at the Ontario Cancer Biomarker Network and Ron Wild a resident at the CFC Media Lab. The scientist, who was incidentally seeking an artistic collaboration, was so impressed by the style and imagery within the artist’s work, that he instantly knew that this was who he was looking for.

Wild utilizes his Jackson Pollock-like style for combining digital images into a symphonic piece of visual delight. The process consists of folding, pulling, transforming and combining images until a coherent and lively image emerges. Joseph Geraci employs a similar mental process in his own work where he combines mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and computer science in order to unravel the workings of our molecular circuitry. Together, they decided to create an art piece that dealt with cancer from a scientific / medical perspective in Ron’s style, being careful not to be too literal but clearly including established and novel information about oncology. The synthesis of these two creative minds resulted in the OncoMap, the first in a series of exciting Art / Science collaborations.

Don’t miss this opportunity to exchange ideas with innovators in the field of public education. Take part in workshops, demonstrations and high-profile performances devoted to exploring inquiry-based learning and its effect on our brains. Witness the collision of art and science in a new synthesis of project-based education and meet some of the most innovative educational entrepreneurs in Canada.

Also, note that DruMeBa a recent prototype of the IAEP summer 2010 session will be presented at this conference by alumni Dee Balkisoon, Cathy Chen, and Orla Garriques. DruMeBa is a customizable drumming experience promoting collaboration among children with autism.

**Just added: Special evening event with Dr. Daniel Levitin (This is Your Brain on Music), featuring a live performance of Surface Tension (2009), by pianist Eve Egoyan and multi-media artist David Rokeby. Plus a special cocktail party appearance by The Hammer Band Kids, created to help at-risk children, with world-renowned violinist Moshe Hammer.

The CFC Media Lab will be participating in Doors Open this year within The MaRS Discovery District. We will be presenting three prototypes that were created within the lab. The first of the three prototypes is Tentacles(Created by: Rob King, Michael Longford, Geoffrey Shea, developed with support from the Canadian Film Centre, OCADU, and York University), a unique application for the Apple iPhone/iPod touch turning your device into a mobile game controller enabling your participation in a multi-user, location-based game projected into public space. Secondly, we will be showing VirJ (Created by: Rawl Banton, Geoff Phillips, Rami Posner, Daniel Barber, Adam Bacsalmasi and Gabe Sawhney), an innovative software application that enables mobile phones to remotely control digital music libraries, using a visual interface will be on display an available for use. Finally, Drumeba, will be on display, (Dee Balkissoon, Cathy Chen, Orla Garriques, Conor Holler) a customizable drumming experience promoting collaboration among children with autism. We hope that you will come out to this amazing event!

Doors Open Toronto is upon us this weekend and we are incredibly excited to be involved at MaRS Discovery District again! We will be showing three amazing prototypes which include: The Quetzal, Alone Together, and Heart of Stars! Alone Together (Shawn Kerwin, Laurel MacDonald) Alone Together is an “art-app” for the Blackberry Playbook tablet that […]

New technology accelerator will combine creative design and business expertise to build growth companies Congratulations to MaRS as they announce the creation of JOLT, a new technology accelerator dedicated to building high-growth web and mobile companies that promise to transform the way consumers and enterprises connect, work and play. Housed in the MaRS Commons, JOLT […]

Congratulations go out CFC Media Lab alumnus Ron Wild on his newly completed artwork! You’re all invited to celebrate with Ron at this incredible event, details are listed below! “The OncoMap” is the product of an eight month collaboration between a mathematical physicist, Joseph Geraci, who works in cancer research and an emerging digital artist […]

ArtsSmarts & Social Innovation Generation at the MaRS Discovery District (SiG@MaRS) invite you to attend an innovative knowledge exchange devoted to exploring the nature of learning, entitled Art, Science and the Brain: New Models of Learning for the 21st Century (www.21c-learning.ca). Don’t miss this opportunity to exchange ideas with innovators in the field of public […]

The CFC Media Lab will be participating in Doors Open this year within The MaRS Discovery District. We will be presenting three prototypes that were created within the lab. The first of the three prototypes is Tentacles (Created by: Rob King, Michael Longford, Geoffrey Shea, developed with support from the Canadian Film Centre, OCADU, and York […]